Strength homogenization and slope stability analysis of expansive soils with native cracks

Strength homogenization and slope stability analysis of expansive soils with native cracks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Strength homogenization and slope stability analysis of expansive soils with native cracks Zhou Hou Zheng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6918919/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Native crack is the key factor affecting the stability of expansive soil slope and pose a potential threat to the safety of major projects. The research is based on an expansive soil slope in the Nanyang section of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The strength parameter expectations of multi-sized crack units, which are randomly distributed and homogenized, are determined. In light of the progressive slope failure process in the slope failure zone, an enhanced local dynamic strength reduction method is proposed for stability analysis. A comparative analysis was conducted to ascertain the stability of expansive soil slopes with and without native cracks. The findings revealed that the expansion of the plastic zone in slopes with native cracks is more pronounced than in those without cracks. The plastic zone undergoes significant development along the distribution area of native cracks, and native cracks themselves have been shown to significantly weaken slope stability, reducing the slope safety factor by 37.8\%. Native cracks located in close proximity to the potential sliding surface, particularly at the foot and top of the slope, have been observed to induce substantial concentrated displacement and shear strain increments within the slope adjacent to these cracks. Civil Engineering Expansive soil slope native crack distribution homogenization strength parameter stability analysis strength reduction method Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6918919","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":472879509,"identity":"54851572-4b66-4249-ad01-ffba30f33ccf","order_by":0,"name":"Zhou Hou Zheng","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvnjhx98/FPDwyZ/gPEBUICHj5AWPgmeNMOZDcfk+CQYmA1AWtgIaZGTYDCQ5m1gNgYy2CTA9hJ0mHRDgjHvDrbENun2Z5Vfc+xk2BiYHz66gU+LzMEDD+eekUlskzmQdlt2WzLQYWzGxjn4tDAkJBi8YQPawpBw7LbkNmagFh42aQJaDCR42JiBWhLbiiW31ROhRSLBQJK3jdmYTSKZjfHjtsNEaOE5k2Y448wxOTaeY8zSjNuOA20k4Bf59vbDDz5U1PAAGQ8//txWbc/P3vzwMT4tKICZB0wSqxwEGH+QonoUjIJRMApGDAAAtAFDvly1qrEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2524-527X","institution":"Wuhan University of Technology, School of naval architecture,ocean and energy power engineering","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhou","middleName":"Hou","lastName":"Zheng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-18 04:14:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6918919/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6918919/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84913659,"identity":"e715c1f6-3d4c-479b-8741-e0e34068e9fe","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-18 17:38:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1148635,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6918919/v1_covered_66ba017d-655c-402b-95b8-f2bc11a02f46.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eStrength homogenization and slope stability analysis of expansive soils with native cracks\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Expansive soil slope, native crack distribution, homogenization strength parameter, stability analysis, strength reduction method","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6918919/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6918919/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eNative crack is the key factor affecting the stability of expansive soil slope and pose a potential threat to the safety of major projects. 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